A/N: Four weeks and one day. I know! But there are legitimate reasons. I could list them for you, but I'm sure that you want to read my story, and not my woes. Let's just say that a jackass ruining $6000 of the most beautiful coloured concrete by doing a shitty job on the pour has been just one problem in a litany.

This chapter flowed so freakin' well, once they all got to the airport. Like 2700 words in about 2-3 hours well. I give credit to Leah and Felix.

I had tons of fun writing this. I smiled to myself, and even chuckled occasionally. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I needed this chapter to get back into the story after so many weeks away.

Please review.

Chapter 24

Caius held Bella close in the back of the limousine, as they made their way to the airport. Opposite them, Felix had a large hand on Leah's thigh, smiling as she leaned into him. Conversation was light, and included Alec, who had volunteered to drive to collect his sister.

Caius had tried to convince Bella that they could wait in Volterra for Jane, Seth, and the three former Cullens to come to them, but his mate was adamant about meeting the plane.

"Given everything that Jasper and Rosalie have apparently done for me, Caius," Bella had said over his protests, "it would just be good manners to be there when they land. Plus, Leah wanted my company. You don't have to come if you don't want to. You can go back to chortling as Laurent's body parts try to find each other. That was a little mean, you know."

Caius grinned, "You know that my brothers and I will not allow you to go without at least one of us. I will amuse myself with Laurent later. I am looking forward to seeing what Jane thinks of his current predicament. You found it amusing, my darling. I saw you stifle a laugh when his hand kept trying to wiggle through the hedges, or when his kneecap kept knocking against the walls."

Bella wrinkled her nose, fighting back a smile. Caius had given Victoria a swift end, but continued to enjoy Laurent's dilemma. Her white-haired mate had persuaded her to come with him to the dungeons several days ago to watch as the pieces of vampire flesh found each other and knit themselves together tenuously. Caius had explained that, unless they were exposed to blood or venom, any fusing would only occur on the surface. Below the vampire skin, muscle and bone would remain unattached, and the reformed part would be very weak.

So far, both of Laurent's feet, and one of his hands had been reassembled. His torso was nearly complete, and all but six of his dreadlocks had found their way back onto his head. Laurent's face was a mask of horrified fear, pain, and impatience. Watching him, Bella did not feel the same understanding for him that she had for Victoria. After all, as Caius had pointed out, Laurent had not lost his mate or his mind when he attacked her and the shifters.

Caius had expressed displeasure at how quickly the dark-skinned vampire was coming together. He ordered several guards to gather up the pieces in individual bags, and then grabbed Laurent's head by his hair. Holding it in one hand while keeping himself away from the weakly snapping teeth, he offered his other arm to Bella.

"Come, my darling," he chuckled as she very hesitantly placed a hand on his arm. "We have not shown you the gardens yet. I have an ongoing project in the Western Courtyard that I think will keep this cur from regaining himself too quickly."

He led her out to a balcony overlooking what was obviously a maze. Bella saw several entrances, but, even looking from above, it was more complex than anything she had seen before. Stone walls, hedges, bridges, and what looked like underground passageways completely obscured a clear path through. In the centre, a fountain splashed, its sound providing a deceiving beacon to those trapped within the maze. Bella turned to Caius, wonder in her eyes.

"It is only one acre," Caius said, "but it has eight underground passageways, each with their own twists and dead-ends, and five bridges. I have been tinkering with it for the last hundred years or so. Once a vampire has solved it, they will ever know the path, of course, but it still keeps me amused. I think it will suit my purposes very well. Would you like to wait here, or would you like a closer look?"

"I'll wait here," Bella replied, already suspecting what Caius was up to. "I wouldn't mind trying to figure it out for myself sometime, so I won't peek, either. Hurry back."

Caius entered the maze, instructing his guard to deposit Laurent's pieces wherever they wanted inside, and then placed the vampire head atop the fountain, arranging it so that the spray exited Laurent's mouth whenever he opened it, streaming like a collar from around his neck the rest of the time. Laurent glowered at the added indignity.

Bella's first reaction was to laugh when she saw the sheet of water pouring from the base of the vampire's head. Caius was relieved. He had been worried that Bella would be upset with him for toying with Laurent. True, this was not the same as the torture he had planned for Victoria, but he relished the humiliation he heaped upon the nomad. He also took dark delight in the prolonged pain Laurent would suffer as his pieces searched the maze for each other.

Laurent's unproductive attempts to bring his scattered corpse together still played through Caius's mind as they came to a stop at the airport. Leah's flung her door open, charging her brother, who had just descended from the plane.

"Leah!" Seth cried, hugging his sister hard. He swung her around, overjoyed when she laughed and hugged him back. She looked fantastic, with a wide, happy smile on her face that he hadn't seen in a very long while. "You look great! Is it Italy that agrees with you, or your Italian bloodsuckers?"

Leah punched him playfully on his arm before stepping back into Felix and wrapping his arms around her waist. She reached up behind her to hook her hand around his neck before answering her brother.

"It must be Italy," she squeaked when Felix turned and nipped her upraised arm. He pushed his nose into the crook of her elbow, inhaling deeply the complex fragrance that was his mate.

"What?" she asked mischievously, looking over her shoulder at him. "Demetri is a Greek bloodsucker, remember? And that wasn't one of Seth's options. So, if Demetri doesn't get credit, then neither do you."

Felix said nothing as he bent his head to take Leah's lips in hard kiss. Her needy whimper made him want more, and he met her questing tongue with his, turning her around to face him. She gripped his hair hard, jumping and wrapping her legs around his waist when he moved his hands down to seize the plump globes of her ass, continuing to feast on her mouth.

Her brother and the rest of their audience forgotten, Leah ground her core against Felix's rapidly hardening member. He pulled away from her mouth, kissing and nibbling down her neck. She threw her head back with a whining gasp as he nipped the mating mark he gave her hard, then began to lick and suck it.

Leah thought she heard someone yelling her name, but any awareness was lost when Felix hiked her up higher to catch a cloth-covered nipple in his mouth. Growling, she scratched her nails down his back, grabbing his shirt up and tearing it off. She moaned, feeling his strong flesh beneath her hands, moving one hand to the front, low between their bodies. Rubbing her fingers along his rigid length, she fumbled with his belt, pulling it apart before working to open his button and zipper.

Bella watched, mouth agape, as Felix and Leah lost themselves to their passion. She noticed Seth shrug and enter the vehicle when his attempt to call Leah got no response. Jane stood next to her brother, shaking her head in amusement, when suddenly Jasper, who had just been leaving the plane, rushed down the stairs, eyes black, unable to keep from projecting Leah and Felix's lust, along with his own.

Jasper knew the young-looking vampire standing next to Jane was most likely her twin, Alec. He was slight, just a few inches taller than Jane herself, and had brown hair set over the most attractive crimson eyes he had ever seen. He had just started toward the siblings when the force of lust permeating the air hit him.

Without further thought, he ran toward Alec, intent on scooping the smaller vampire up and claiming him. Finally, he thought, the Gods have seen fit to reward me. After all these years, all that I have done, good and bad – finally I have been given my mate.

Shock kept Alec still as the tall blonde male arrived next to him. He had just a moment to register the dark eyes in a scarred face before he was gathered up in strong arms.

"You are Mine." he heard the vampire growl softly into his neck. He was held firm against the male's body, and as he inhaled, the scent of the vampire who held him hit him, and he felt his body swell in response. He tilted his head, baring his neck completely, and grabbed at the male's lean hips, thrusting his erection to rub against another.

"Oh Gods," Bella said, her mutter turning into a moan as Caius pulled her back into his front, his hard cock digging into the cleft of her ass. She still blushed when she thought about everything she had done with her mates over the last week. The feeling of all of them in her body continued to overwhelm her, sending her into paroxysms of ecstasy that she feared she would never recover from.

Bella's eyes closed as her head fell back onto Caius's chest, only to snap open when she heard fabric rip. Leah was grinding up against Felix, her hand jerking furiously on his exposed penis, clad in just her bra and underwear.

Jasper had Alec pinned to the trunk of the limousine. Their hands were clasped over Alec's head, and they were devouring each other's mouths, their hips moving rhythmically together.

Jane's eyes were frantic, her body twitching as she eyed the vehicle door Seth had shut behind him. Bella could almost hear the argument going on in the small female's head, and through the thick fog of lust, she realized that she had to stop this.

Just as Felix tore off Leah's underwear, Bella yelled, "Jane! Pain on Jasper, now!"

Jane obeyed without hesitation, focussing her gift for the first time in many days, on the vampire she had come to respect. She watched as he released her twin to grab the sides of his head, gritting his teeth to contain his screams of agony.

As quickly as Jasper was down, Bella's head cleared. Before Jasper's pain could become everybody's, she calmly instructed Jane to stop. Jasper leaned his forehead against Alec's chest, breathing his mate's sweet scent as the memory of pain lingered briefly.

Alec saw his mate's distress, and growled at his sister. His eyes now were black from anger, rather than lust. He stood quickly, pushing the taller vampire behind him, and launched himself at Jane, teeth bared, venom dripping, his own gift leading the way.

Leah was completely bare now with Felix buried inside her. His hands at her hips pulled and pushed, and she was bucking against him, growling, eyes yellow, and canines out.

"Stop!" Bella yelled, not sure if she was shouting at Alec or the pair putting on a live, public sex-show. She was unsurprised when nothing happened. Unsurprised, but highly annoyed.

"STOP!" she yelled again, flinging her hands forward with emphasis.

Ivy appeared out of thin air, halting Alec mid-spring. The unexpected lurch broke his concentration, and the mist of his gift dissipated. Another set of vines sprang up between Felix and Leah, pulling them off and away from each other, wrapping around each of them enough to maintain a shred of whatever dignity they had remaining.

Utter silence descended on the group, as every mouth dropped open, and every pair of eyes widened. Leah seemed to come back to herself, and her face erupted in a fiery blush, visible even with her russet complexion.

"Emmett!" Rose's high-pitched cry sounded from inside the plane, breaking the silence.

"Ugh, Rose, that's it. God, baby, you feel so good. Come for me, my Rosie!" Emmett uttered a few expletives before he and his mate cried out together, obviously completing the activity that had been so recently on everyone's mind.

Bella rolled her eyes. She just didn't know where to begin. The nudge against her backside decided the matter for her. Turning, she addressed her mate.

"Caius, as much as I enjoy you, I am sure that you don't want to treat everyone here to as much of a view of me as we all have had of Leah." She stilled his hips with a firm hand. She turned back to the group, waving a hand between Alec and Jasper. "Oh, and Alec, meet Jasper. Jasper, this is Alec, your mate, apparently."

Jasper felt embarrassment flare up once again in the female shifter and her mate. The rest of the group felt annoyance and amusement in almost equal parts, with a good dose of lust still evident.

From Alec the overriding emotion was still rage. Jasper stepped up behind his furious mate, and wrapped his arms around the lithe waist, nuzzling Alec's neck and whispering to him.

"Alec, I'm OK. Jane didn't hurt me much, just enough so that we didn't all end up claiming each other right here and now. You don't need to protect me, my fierce one."

Jane quietly sighed with relief as the black of Alec's eyes slowly faded. He scowled at her, and growled lowly, but she understood. She would kill anyone who harmed her Seth. Speaking of which. . .

"Master Caius," she gritted through a clenched jaw, "where is the filth that harmed my mate?"

"Ah, Jane," Caius grinned, "I am delighted you have asked. I have kept him for you to enjoy. I'll tell you about it on the way home.

"My darling," he said to Bella, "You can let them go now. I am confident everyone with behave appropriately on the way back." He fixed a gimlet stare at Felix and Leah. "I will be relaying your behaviour to Demetri, Felix. You, too, she-wolf. I'm sure he will want an explanation."

"I'm not sure I can explain, Master Caius," Felix's tone was low and confused. "But there is no need for you to tell Demetri. I will take care of that myself."

"We will take care of that," Leah corrected emphatically. "I have no idea what happened, either, but I know that right now I am highly embarrased. I am so sorry we got so carried away." The native beauty hung head, unwilling to raise her eyes. She wanted to hide under a rock, or shift and run high into the hills.

"Caius," Bella's hesitant tone brought the white-haired king's attention to her immediately. "I'm not sure I know how to let them go. I don't know how I even did this."

"Try to relax, my darling," Caius soothed. "By the sound of your voice, I would guess that these vines appeared in a moment of desperation."

Bella nodded, "I saw everything happening. Felix tearing Leah's clothes off, and Jane trying so hard to hold herself back from going to Seth, and Jasper and Alec on the limo, and knew that someone had to change Jasper's emotional state. Jane was the only one who could. But by then Leah and Felix were, umm, well. . ." she broke off blushing, then continued, "and Alec was the only one who could have stopped them, but he was attacking Jane, and I just wanted it all to stop!"

"That was quick thinking on your part, Bella." Jasper's voice was pleased. "I'm not sure anything else but the pain Jane can inflict would have been able to cut through the lust those two were throwing off. I agree with Caius. If you called forth your gift with heightened emotion, then it should go away if you relax."

Caius pulled Bella into his chest, purring softly as he ran his hand through her hair and down her back. He whispered words of love, of pride in her, of reassurance, and felt the tension leave her body. He watched over her head as the ivy vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving not a trace behind.

"Does anyone have anything I can wear?" Leah nearly whispered, her face heating once more, as her hands came up to try to shield herself from view. Felix dashed in front of her, zipping and buttoning his pants at vampire speed, while everyone else turned away.

"You can borrow something of mine," Rose answered, as she walked gracefully out of the plane and down the steps, Emmett following behind with a satisfied grin, his eyes firmly trained on his mate's bottom. Rose looked immaculate, not a hair out of place, or a wrinkle on her clothing. Leah grumbled to herself at the unfairness of it all.

The statuesque blond female directed Emmett to put her suitcase on the trunk of the limousine. She took a second to shake her head at the new dents adorning the gleaming black metal, and then she opened her luggage and removed a soft, silky summer dress in aquamarine blue, and a pair of white lace thong panties with the tags still attached.

"Here," Rose handed the dress to Leah, "Everything in this suitcase is either new or almost new. I only wore the dress once, but I'm sure it will fit you. I have a bra here to match the panties, but I'm a little more busty than you, and I think the dress will be just fine without it."

Leah bent to slip on the underwear. Felix held the dress, helping to drape it over her head. As he moved her hair out of the way, his nostrils flared, and he drew in a large breath of air. Immediately his eyes darkened, and he reached for Leah once more.

"No!" Jasper panicked. "Alec, your gift! Sensory deprivation, right?"

At the twin's nod, Jasper ordered, "Throw it on Leah and Felix, now! Unless we want a repeat of what we just narrowly avoided."

Alec needed no further prodding to envelop the large vampire and his mate in his gift.

"Well," Caius growled, his eyebrows drown down in a stern frown. "When we get back, remind me to toss these two into their chambers with Demetri and orders not to come out until they have got whatever it is out of their systems."

He offered Bella his hand, turning to the remaining group, "With Felix and Alec indisposed at the moment, I will be driving back to Volterra. I am sure you two," he indicated Rose and Jasper, "will be interested to learn what Aro and Demetri have uncovered over the last few days."

He opened the passenger side front door for his Bella, and nearly recoiled at the scent of shifter semen that wafted from the interior. Slamming the door, he stalked to the back, opening the rear door to reveal a mortified Seth with his face hiding his hands. He had removed his shirt, obviously using it to catch and clean up the evidence of his release. Peeking through his fingers, he slowly brought his hands down.

"I just couldn't stop myself," he explained with a weak grin.

Turning on his heel, Caius scooped Bella up in his arms, and began to walk determinedly to the airport's main terminal. He turned and glared at the abashed group before him.

"Bella and I will be finding our own transportation," he stated. "The rest of you take that vehicle back to Volterra. Tell my brothers we will arrive shortly.

"And clean the limousine!" he yelled.

E&E&E&E&E&E-Entwined-E&E&E&E&E&E

A/N: So tell me, what the heck's with Leah and Felix? Horndogs.

What did you think of Caius's plan for Laurent? I know that there were quite a few of you that were upset that Bella talked him out of torturing Victoria, thinking that I would make him soft. But, Bella doesn't need to change Caius. She didn't even demand anything. She just pointed out the damage that he was doing to himself. He already knew that, which is why he understood her, and agreed with her comments.

She didn't stop him from having fun with Laurent, did she? And she won't stop his viciousness in battle, I can assure you. I know the role she needs to play in the Volturi. Do you?

Jasper and Alec? Yes, no, maybe? I didn't see that one coming, either. Good for Jasper. When it happened, I realized what an amazing pairing it is. Yin and yang. One has the ability to make you feel everything; the other has the ability to make you feel nothing. Thoughts on that?

Poor Seth! :)

And, I've been meaning to ask: How have you guys found my story? Search, recommendations, recently updated, accident? I'm curious.

Well, this is the most positive adult interaction I've had all summer. That's why it's so long. Thanks, all!